Collision of the worlds
by NoCommentHere
Summary: She's just a poor, orphan girl. He's her worst nightmare, a cruel, sadistic soldier that oppresses her village. Then the unimaginable happens: the war blocks the two of them in the same house.
1. A miserable world

Summary: She's just a poor, orphan girl. He's her worst nightmare, a cruel, sadistic soldier that oppresses her village. Then the unimaginable happens: the war blocks the two of them in the same house.

Warning: It will contain violence and other graphic scenes. Might turn it into an M fic later.

…

The girl dreamily searched the sky, her eyes drifting from the vast expanse of blue above right down to open green fields of the countryside in front of her. She loved that feeling. The fresh, soothing feeling of watching the azure sky, its calming effect on her tightened chest, on her febrile mind.

She had longed for quite a while for that. For the past years the sky had only been gray and sad, covered in thick veils of dark clouds. Covered in bullets and sparks and planes that crashed into each other, falling after that on the dry field, reddened from too much violence, from too much war, from too much pain.

The war. She couldn't even remember when it had started. She couldn't even remember the time before it. She had been so small that the only beautiful memories from her short life were vague, distant, barely recognizable.

She couldn't remember her father, she had only felt his cold lips on her forehead when he had left for the last time. He had left to throw himself into the tumult of the battle, but not before wiping her small tears with his thumbs and promising her that he would return.

He promised her he would be back. She remembered his lips forming those words, even though she couldn't clearly remember his features.

All she knew was that he had been an honest man, a man who knew what he had to do in life. She had always looked up to him, but, unfortunately, she hadn't managed to be like him after all.

She had involuntarily taken most traits from her mother. The long, red hair. The silence. The fear of everything. To her gratefulness, she had taken one of the most important things from him.

Altruism. In that aspect, she was almost sure she wasn't like mother.

Her chest panged at the memories as it always did, memories assaulting her of green grass and oak trees and beautiful afternoons, spent in her father's company. Lowering her eyes, her gaze rested on the small, red flower she had attached to the front of her dirty, old dress.

A flower just like the one her father had given her ten years ago, when she had seen him for the last time.

The girl closed her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, trying to stop the tears that were about to fall on her cheeks. She didn't want to cry anymore. She had cried too much for the past ten years.

She loved days like that one. In those moments she could almost forget the constant presence of those soldiers that took over their small village. Those soldiers who constantly gave orders, beat up the local residents for making the smallest mistakes, who mocked and spit on them, laughing cruelly and quenching their thirst of violence.

Those soldiers who wore dark green uniforms, who stared at her with hungry, savage eyes.

Her mother always warned her about them. She told her to be careful, she told her to run away as fast as possible if she found herself alone with one of those soldiers, in an unknown place. Even though nothing was unknown to her anymore in that village. She knew every small corner, every bit of it, so she couldn't get lost even if she tried to.

She heard stories about women who were abused, about women who were raped during times of war, because the soldiers were deprived of ways to fulfill their horrendous instincts and they didn't find any better choices.

The women were even killed sometimes or they just died alone, in their own misery and pain, their bodies worn out, almost damaged.

She remembered how much she had cried after she had found out about those stories, how her mother had reprimanded her for being so weak, so vulnerable.

They lived in poverty, in suffering and no one was able to help them. She remembered other countries that had sent helping forces, but those foreign soldiers that took over their country were too many. Too strong. An endless source of oppression. They couldn't get rid of them even if they turned the entire country against them.

They were like animals and preys.

The girl stood up and brushed the dirt off her dress as she threw one last look at the wide, green field, at the lonely oak tree that rose there, in the middle of it. She lifted her face and let the warm sunlight scrape her pallid skin, before she opened her brown eyes and took everything in, letting the view imprint itself in her mind.

She knew that was one of the rare occasions when she could actually enjoy the beauty of the nature. One of the days when soldiers didn't burst through her cottage's door and brought her wounded people, threatening to beat her and her mother if they didn't heal them.

Her eyes skimmed over an old, demolished, burnt military car on the side of the road. She averted her gaze and stared ahead, trying not to look again as she passed it. Other times it was painful for her to see such things, but that day was so bright and warm that not even sights like those could take away her high spirit.

She walked down the dirt track until she entered the village and passed near people. Near miserable people, with sunken cheeks and tired eyes, with bruises and marks all over them. There were a few who were still untouched– she was one of them-, but she was aware that it was only a matter of time before she received her first punishment from the soldiers.

As she ran up to the small house, she was suddenly hit by screams and yells from the inside which made her stomach churn viciously. Her skin went cold and her vision became blurry, as her heart skipped faster in fear for the worst.

The girl bolted inside to be greeted by a sight that made her a little sick to her stomach.

Her mother's red hair flowed down her waist as she stood with her back to her, leaning over the long, wooden table that she used to lay injured people on, when she treated them. She couldn't clearly see who was lying on the table, but she knew for sure that the woman who had screamed earlier was the one her mother was treating in that moment.

The girl carefully approached the table to notice dirty, pink hair and blood.

Too much blood.

Then she could clearly distinguish the hurt woman. It was one of her friends' mother. From what she could tell, the woman had been hit in the head many times because she had a large gash that spread from her temple to the top of her forehead. She had some long, bleeding cuts, too, but the gash was the worst.

The girl stared at the woman for a few moments, trembling, almost bursting into tears, before her mother suddenly noticed her there and turned towards her, frowning.

"Why are you standing there, Flaky?" Her mother reprimanded her. "Help me with this!" She stretched her arm and grabbed hers, dragging her towards the table.

Her mother gave her a tourniquet and instructed her to apply it on the pink-haired woman's gash and put pressure on it. Flaky did as she was told. She silently waited for her mother as she rummaged through the small cupboards, looking for some sort of chemical substance, while the woman on the table cried in pain, still delirious in a state of unconsciousness, which made Flaky turn her head in disdain.

"Those bastards did it again." Her mother spoke, her voice weak and ragged, barely audible. "They beat her almost to death."

Tremors shook Flaky's entire body, crawling under her cold skin. She felt the sting in her chest become stronger and stronger, as if a needle pierced through her, a needle filled with fear, anger and sorrow. She knew she shouldn't be surprised after all the calamities the soldiers had committed, but she couldn't help herself.

She couldn't understand how someone could be so cruel, so inhuman.

After a few minutes, her mother turned to her and wiped the sweat off her forehead, breathing heavily and looking at the patient with some sort of vague hopelessness in her eyes. She lifted her eyes towards Flaky.

"Go to the medicinal store. We're out of disinfectants."

Flaky blinked at her, a little taken aback, as her mother furrowed her brow in impatience.

"Go now!" She snapped. "Or she'll die!" She curled her mouth in frustration and Flaky nodded fervently, before she bolted outside.

She felt dizzy for a few moments, stumbling and stuttering over even the smallest pebbles, before she managed to gather herself and stand properly on her own legs. She stared ahead at the crowded village and walked forward, desperately pushing people aside as she tried to create her way through them as fast as possible.

She mumbled apologies when some of them swore or threw her offended looks, even though she tried to ignore most of them as she ran on her trembling legs, breathless and scared.

A strong hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and stopped her in her tracks.

Flaky gave a short yelp when someone's fingers dug into her skin so hard that she thought it was going to bleed.

Her legs gave up under her before she fell on the dirty ground with tears in her eyes from the excruciating pain. The one who had grabbed her wrist tightened his firm grip and laughed satisfied when she gave another scream.

Flaky barely managed to open her teary eyes and look up at a tall, intimidating soldier. He didn't appear to be much older than her, but his hypnotizing, feral stare was so powerful that she thought he was going to kill her right there on the spot. His expression was the most frightening she had ever seen on a soldier.

And she had seen many.

"Where do you think you're going in such a hurry, you little snitch." He smirked down at her as his terrifying stare bore into her. Even through the darkness of the night that started falling over the village, she could clearly see his weird, light green eyes. He appeared savage, almost insane. Flaky wouldn't be too surprised if he actually was insane. In fact, she would be surprised if any of those soldiers was normal.

"P-please, s-sir." She muttered desperate. "I-I h-have to help s-someone."

His smirk turned into a grin as he kept staring down at her, pleased with the fact that she was at his feet, begging and silently crying. He pressed his fingers into her thin wrist so hard that it bent at an unnatural angle, making her scream in physical pain again.

Flaky squeezed her eyes shut and mumbled pleads under her breath, but he kept holding her wrist. He just laughed again.

She almost saw what was coming next.

A hard, rough beating, a whipping until she passed out or even the worst: a bullet straight through her head. The tears fell on her cheeks like small rivers, as the pain overwhelmed her completely, draining her of the little life force that she was left with.

To her surprise, the soldier brought her hand back to its natural position and pulled her up by it, until she was back on her feet again. She staggered for a few moments, since her legs were numb from exhaustion, but she managed to regain her balance after all.

Flaky slowly opened her eyes and gazed up at the cruel soldier. She waited for him to punish her, she waited for a slap, a kick, anything, but he just looked down at her intently. Flaky felt her breath come faster as she gazed back. It felt like he was looking through her. His eyes were the greenest thing Flaky had ever seen.

She couldn't believe that behind those eyes, something so…_monstrous _was hiding_._

"I can do anything I want to you right now." He spoke slowly. He brought his hand up and drew it over her cheek, making her squint in fear. Then he cupped her chin with his fingers and lifted it up, forcing her to look into his eyes. "I can just break through your skin and into your eyes, dig up into them until it remains nothing but two black holes."

She stared in horror at him, through glassy eyes, filled with tears, while the contents of her stomach swayed, threatening to come out. She was so struck by his horrid words that she believed she was going to throw up from all the emotions that flowed through her veins.

He was unimaginable. Absolutely murderous. Insane. In that moment, she was convinced he was the worst possible kind of human being that existed out there.

His other hand released her wrist and Flaky believed for a moment he was going to let her go, but his hand slowly descended to caress her side, then her hip, until it reached the front of her dress, right below her bellybutton. She closed her eyes hard and bit her lip, waiting for him to do what her mother had warned her so many times, even though he stopped.

"I can abuse you right here. Where everyone is able to see us." He lowly spoke next to her ear. He lightly passed his fingers over that spot and Flaky thought her head was going to implode from the blood that rushed to her face. No one had ever done anything like that to her, in her entire life. The experience was strange, perplexing, almost unbearable.

The girl gave small whimpers and he laughed, satisfied with her reactions.

The soldier suddenly set her free, before he pushed her and Flaky squeaked when she fell to the ground for the second time. Dust rose around her from the collision and she coughed. She tried to recover for a moment or two, before she raised her head to see him staring in disgust at her.

"You're pathetic." He curled his mouth downwards as Flaky stared at him, wide-eyed. "Just leave before I kill you."

She looked up at him petrified, before she quietly rose on her feet. She was aware she was about to burst into serious cries, but she abstained herself. She didn't want to cry in front of him because he would probably punish or even murder her if she did it.

She backed away a few steps, still careful and cautious, then turned and started walking at a quick pace. Even when she probably got out of his sight, she still felt that burning stare on her skin, those mad, piercing eyes digging holes into her.

She was so traumatized and shaken that she couldn't help herself anymore and finally burst into tears. She stopped for a moment and leant on a dirty wall that belonged to an old, small house, wildly shaking and crying. People stared at her weirdly as they passed, but none bothered to even get close to her. In fact, they avoided her, as if she was plagued.

Flaky weakly wiped her tears with her stained, ragged sleeve as she tried to come to her senses. That woman was dying and she needed her. It was already enough that she had lost plenty of time. She wasn't going to delay it anymore. It had been selfish of her to forget about the woman and think only about her own misery.

She gathered herself and struggled to reach the medicinal store. No one was there because people didn't have money to buy anything. Her mother had resources just because she was the town's healer, but that was all. If she did anything else with the money she'd received from the soldiers, they would execute her immediately.

Flaky got what was necessary and quickly returned. On the way back she didn't run anymore because she didn't want to attract attention and be stopped by another soldier.

After what seemed like hours, she was finally able to see the small cottage far away and sighed in relief.

But it didn't last. Screams and cries filled the air and she jumped startled as the screams went right through her core. She turned her head and noticed that many people gathered and crammed into each other as they struggled to see what was going on in the main square, right in the center of the village.

Flaky remained in the same spot and stared at the crowd from a considerable distance. The screams started becoming excruciating, terrifying and she almost covered her ears with her palms.

She didn't need to do it anymore because several gunshots resonated through the air and made those screams stop.

And then she realized that the soldiers murdered. _Again._ They tortured those people who had screamed, before they put their guns to their heads and shot them.

Flaky's lips trembled and she turned in a hurry, wanting to get rid of those horrendous images and sounds. She was crying again when she burst through the cottage's door, as her mother dashed at her and grabbed her by the upper arm.

To her demise, her mother didn't even ask her anymore why she was crying. She had probably gotten used to Flaky's sudden outbursts and accesses of tears. Flaky felt pathetic for being so weak and emotionally unstable.

The pink haired woman was paler than ever and Flaky realized she had lost a lot of blood. She feared that it was already too late, but her mother rapidly put the disinfectant on a clean, new tourniquet and stuck it to the gash, before she tied it to the woman's head.

Then she noticed another presence in the room. A younger version of the woman, the same age as Flaky, if not slightly older, stood up from a nearby chair and approached the woman.

Giggles was one of her best friends. She was a girl that she could trust into. Flaky was also a little envious of the pink-haired girl, because she had never seen her cry. Giggles was always strong and down-to-earth, even in the most maddening situations. Even then, in that moment that threatened her mother's life, Giggles's features were unstained and dry. She had a somber, almost unreadable expression, but no sign of tears in her eyes. Just a really pallid face and dark-blue circles under her tired eyes.

The girl stared at the near-to-death woman on the wooden table for a few moments then raised her eyes towards Flaky.

"When will it be over? When?" She inquired in a fade voice. None of them said anything anymore.

There was no answer to that question. No answer that they could form, anyway.


	2. Under the oak tree

**Author's note:** In my story, Flippy doesn't have two personalities. He's only his evil self here. He will start becoming good in the later chapters, but he will still remain evil Flippy.

**Warning:** Violence, torture and some graphic scenes. I won't make evil Flippy that sweet lovey-dovey guy many fanfics unrealistically seem to describe him as. People apparently often forget he is criminally _insane_. So he won't be gentle to Flaky in the first chapters. He won't magically fall in love with her at first sight either.

...

Flaky tiredly looked at the still, unconscious woman on the wooden, long table. She was beginning to doze off, but she managed to remain awake after all.

She forced herself to do it. The fact that she wasn't even capable of watching someone unconscious just lowered her self-esteem more. Convinced her that she wasn't fit for doing anything in life. That she was useless.

The fact that she was falling asleep in the middle of the day just strengthened that belief.

The red haired girl gave a long, deep exhale as her eyes passed over the beautiful view from outside the window, the thick crowns of the trees intertwining to form a sky of green as the golden rays of sunlight barely passed through its openings. Sometimes, the place where she and her mother lived was the only thing that gave her the smallest smidge of joy. She was glad their cottage resided near the forest and, if she thought better, it was probably the only house in that village that found its position there.

She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed quietly as she tried to listen to the sound of the birds chirping and, barely audible, far away, she could hear the faint sound of the small river that flowed down into the valley. Those sounds soothed her and made her forget about everything, made her feel peaceful and somewhat happy.

She quietly waited for anyone to return, so that she could go outside just for a little bit. She waited for her mother to come back from whatever daily business she had or for Giggles to return from her work.

Giggles, after many months of searching, had finally managed to find a job as a seller in a poor, old grocery store. She didn't make much, but the little that she got from her work was enough to maintain her and her mother. It was considerably harder now that her mother had been beaten and brought to a state of unconsciousness, but they all hoped she was going to get well in a month or two.

Now Flaky was left in the charge of the pink-haired woman. She had to supervise her and not leave her out of her sight in case the woman was going wake up and need assistance. Her mother clearly instructed her to be careful and not to leave the cottage as long as there wasn't anyone there to take care of the woman.

Flaky knew that her mother actually feared that whoever had beaten the woman was going to look for her, find her and murder her for good. That frightened Flaky a little, because it meant she had to face that horrifying person and she definitely wasn't strong and courageous enough to do that.

She would probably just crawl into a hole and stay there until she fainted from fear.

It didn't last much before Giggles returned. Flaky was almost sure she was about to fall asleep in the moment the pink-haired girl got in through the door.

She jumped like burnt and gave her a small smile before she stood up and approached the serious, taller girl, but Giggles just threw Flaky a short look and nodded, silently acknowledging her presence, before her gaze quickly rested on her mother. Flaky saw Giggles's shoulders slouching in hopelessness as she looked at her mother's pale, emotionless face.

"She hasn't moved at all, has she?" Giggles asked tiredly. Flaky silently shook her head and muttered a strangled 'no', as the other girl knitted her brow. "I wonder sometimes if she will ever move again." Giggles continued, as if she spoke more to herself.

Flaky's heart almost stilled at the painful words. She felt tears moisten her eyes, but she forced herself not to show her weakness again. Everything was always too much for her and she got tired of being so easily breakable.

She approached the girl in silence and put her small hand on her shoulder.

"My mother tries her best." Flaky murmured in a poor attempt at consolation. Giggles turned her head and offered her a small smile.

"I know."

They remained in silence, looking at the still, lifeless woman. As she studied her, Flaky was somewhat reminded of one of the characters from the fairy tales her mother used to read to her when she was a child. Her skin was so pallid, it was almost the same color as the snow. Her hair was a pale shade of pink, just like the blooming spring flowers.

A sadness enveloped Flaky when she realized she was never going to be just like her and her daughter. She felt guilty for having those emotions, because she knew that Giggles and her mother were in a terrible situation. But she couldn't help but yearn for a part of that beauty.

"Let's go."

Flaky raised her eyes and gazed wide eyed at the other girl.

"W-what?"

Giggles turned her head and stared right into her eyes, unyielding and decided.

"Let's go." She repeated firmly. "I don't want to stay here anymore." She furrowed her brow. "I can't stand seeing her like that anymore."

Flaky shook her head reluctantly as she fidgeted and backed away a little.

"But m-mom will be angry…I-I told her I would look after your m-mother…I-I can't…" She stammered.

"I'll talk to her, don't worry." Giggles retorted, approaching her and grabbing her wrist. "Now let's go."

Flaky gave a few weak protests as the slightly taller girl started dragging her. She gave the lying woman a short look, then turned and exhaled as she relented and followed the pink-haired girl. She had no idea where she wanted to go, but she somewhat was relieved that she was finally able to leave the cottage.

Flaky noticed that they weren't heading towards the village and she was thankful for that. She rarely went into the village, except when there were urgencies or when her mother sent her to buy things that they needed for their home. In the rest of the time, she just hanged out near the forest or into the fields.

She used to love going into the village when she was a child, but, after the war started and her father went away, that custom died down along with the soldiers that took over. Giggles and her other friends probably felt the same way, but they didn't often talk about that.

Still, Flaky almost never left the areas around her cottage. She didn't want to know anything about the daily, horrifying events that took place in the village. She just wanted to stay as far away as possible.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, Flaky could clearly see where Giggles headed to.

They passed near the old, broken military car on the side of the road and near a part of the field that she could easily recognize. Far away, in the distance, she could see the enormous oak tree that was rising there, alone, in the middle of the green field. Its shadow spread over a great area around it and, under it, she could spot two figures.

As they got closer, Flaky could recognize the boy with short, blonde hair and his slightly taller, purple haired best friend. They seemed to throw something at each other, back and forth, as they kept shouting things. She guessed they were playing something.

"Come on, give me the ball, Cuddles!" The purple haired boy shouted, frowning slightly.

"I've had it with this!" The blond boy shouted back. "It's not even a ball, it's just a pile of dry mud!" He threw the ball – which was indeed a pile of dry mud- and kicked it with his foot far away, until it disappeared between some short, golden crops. The other boy's mouth hung open in surprise, before he strode forward towards his friend, apparently angered by his gesture.

"What did you do that for? That was our only ball! Now we have nothing!"

"It wasn't a real ball!" Cuddles snapped. "We don't have anything, Toothy! Anything! Don't you see it?" He looked down at his dirty, old, badly sewn shirt for a moment. "Not even our clothes are real! We're wearing rags!" He gave the ground an angry kick, making a cloud of dust rise in the air, before he stood on the ground as his golden eyes fell on a small patch of grass near him. Toothy remained silent and stared at him in bitterness.

"I see you two have been caught up in another fight again."

They both lifted their eyes to see the pink haired girl who stared at them rigidly, her arms crossed, as the other red haired, smaller girl, stood behind her with the usual, fearful look in her eyes. They didn't say anything for a few moments. Flaky could hear the sounds of the small birds around them, as the silence filled the air, heavy and tense.

"Well?" Giggles asked harshly.

Toothy sighed.

"What do you want us to tell you?" He retorted. "You know we're sick and tired of living in this misery." He stopped and gazed at the village, far away. "We're sick and tired of those bastards."

Giggles shook her head and softened a little. Flaky knew that the girl was probably fed up with seeing the two boys fighting. Flaky was tired of seeing them do it too, but she didn't say anything, unlike Giggles, who always scolded them when they acted like that.

All of them had hung out together since they were little. Flaky and Giggles were used to see the two boys get along really well, but, lately, they started having quarrels quite often.

The war and the misery had changed them all.

Giggles sat on the ground near the boys as Flaky fidgeted nervously. She twitched before she approached her friends on trembling legs and sat next to them unsurely. They formed a circle under the big, old oak's shadow, just like they used to do it when they were little. Some sort of melancholy enveloped Flaky's heart and mind as she exhaled downheartedly.

"You have to stop letting the influence of those monsters get in between you. You have to stop fighting with each other because of them." Giggles softly spoke. "It's not worth it."

They all looked at the ground in complete silence. The summer's air was dry, but the tree's shadow was quite comforting to them. It was a place where they couldn't be disturbed. A place where they could enjoy some peace, where the soldiers never went, because they were too occupied with oppressing the villagers. It was a piece of paradise.

"Let's play our old version of 'rock, paper, scissors'." Cuddles suddenly raised his eyes. "The one who loses has to tell something about him. And it has to be true."

They all agreed, as they stretched their arms forward and prepared for the game. After some childish bickering and laughs, they decided that Toothy was the one who first lost the game. He grinned and thought for a few seconds, before he decided what he actually wanted to confess to them.

"Alright." He began. "Remember that bastard soldier that pushed me when I was in line for the bread and he lied and said that I went in front of him?" He addressed more to Cuddles, as he had probably been there when it had happened. They all nodded and waited for his continuation. "I followed him after that and stole a piece of bread from his bag." He smiled smugly as the others stared at him, taken aback.

"Man, you would have been killed if he had seen you." Cuddles stated worried.

Giggles frowned.

"I hope that won't happen again." She crossed her arms in annoyance, her motherly, scolding attitude resurfacing again. Flaky shuddered and hugged herself. She couldn't imagine the horrors they would have done to Toothy. She couldn't imagine their lives without Toothy. He was their best friend.

"I don't care." Toothy retorted decided. "That bastard deserved it." He furrowed his brow. "In fact, they all deserve _much_ more. But nothing can be done right now. We'll just have to wait for the big day." The last part sounded more like a whisper, as if he was afraid that someone else apart from them would hear him.

Confusion clouded Flaky's mind as she looked from one teen to the other. She couldn't comprehend what Toothy had referred to. She noticed that all three of them had grave expressions, which meant that Cuddles and Giggles knew what the boy was talking about. Which scared her.

"W-what big d-day?" Flaky inquired.

They all turned to her, staring wide eyed, appearing almost shocked by her question.

"You…you don't know?" Cuddles asked, whispering in the same way Toothy did, not more than a few moments ago.

Flaky nodded quietly as they kept gaping at her in awe. Giggles put her hand on the red haired girl's shoulder and clutched it comfortingly.

"Your mother probably hasn't told you until now because she doesn't want to worry you yet." She explained. "It will be most surely quite terrifying for you, Flaky."

The red haired girl paled as her skin turned cold. What could be so unsettling that not even her mother, who always wanted to strengthen her through horrendous stories, could tell her?

The two boys took deep breaths in as Giggles turned her entire attention to Flaky. The redhead bit her lip and waited for the older girl to say what she had to say. She felt her heart wrenching and twisting in her ribcage like a little animal that wanted to come out.

"It will be called the Resistance Day." Giggles started, her face baring no emotion. She seemed cold and harsh as she spoke those words, different from the good friend they all knew. "A great group of people in our village have been plotting this for months. One night, they'll sneak out and silently evacuate the other villagers – mostly women and children- outside the village, in camps where they'll be safe from the battle that will take place here. Then the resistance group will attack those goddamm bastard soldiers, take their weapons and kill them." They remained silent for a few moments, listening to the still nature. Even Flaky's heart froze.

"Of course, it won't be easy." Cuddles interfered. "The soldiers will most surely fight back and won't surrender immediately. That's why villagers have to be far away from this place when it will happen. Because they would panic and the soldiers would start killing all the innocent people that have nothing to do with this."

Flaky gave a small whimper as she brought her hand to her mouth. She felt her joints starting to tremble slightly, but she gathered all her strength not to lose her control in front of her friends.

"All the villages and the towns in this country have plotted this. Not just our village." Toothy explained. "It will be serious war. Again"

Flaky gulped slightly, trying to control her voice.

"B-but when w-will this h-happen?" She inquired.

Giggles shook her head.

"No one knows for sure. It will happen soon enough. We'll just be dragged from our beds in one night and out there into the fields, far away from this place."

Toothy pushed his chest forward as he pointed to himself.

"Not me. I'll stay here and fight along with our people." His look of pride turned into one of surprise when his blonde haired best friend pushed his arm and punched him in the shoulder.

"Don't you think I'll leave you here, you eggplant." He grinned. "We'll both stay and fight."

They burst into laughs but their joy was suddenly wiped out when Giggles's voice rose between them.

"_None_ of you will stay here." She harshly addressed to them. "You're not old enough to fight in a war yet." She growled in annoyance.

Cuddles smiled and stretched his arm, trying to pat her on the shoulder, but the pink haired girl pushed his arm away and glared. He didn't seem bothered by her gesture. In fact, his smile got even wider at her fiery attitude.

"Don't worry, Gig." He said reassuringly. "We won't die. And we're seventeen. We just have one more year until we'll have the proper age to fight in a war. It's not that big of a difference. We can do it."

"Yeah." Toothy sustained him. "We can't let this occasion slip through our fingers."

"The occasion to be shot or slaughtered in a war?" Giggles asked darkly.

The two boys shared a look of unease.

"We don't put it that way." Toothy said. "It's more like…" He paused, thinking for the right words. "…an occasion to do something honorable for our people."

"It's a difference between 'honorable' and 'stupid'." The girl sneered. "You don't even have experience."

"Yes, we do." Cuddles protested, "We've practiced a lot lately, haven't we, Tooth?"

"I don't care." Giggles snapped. "You won't stay and that's final."

"Well, you're not our mother." Cuddles snapped back.

"F-friends."

They all stopped and turned their heads towards the pale, weak, red-haired girl, that seemed to have been forgotten there, next to them. Her brown-reddish eyes were almost drowning in tears again as they stared taken aback at her. She was trembling, from fear and worry and anxiety.

She could bear the fact that a serious war was coming soon. For their freedom, for their happiness. For a free land. For free families that could go on with their lives and raise their children in peace. For getting rid of the poverty.

But the thought that her friends were going to be part of it pained and scared her terribly.

"Don't cry, Flaky." Toothy patted her on the back. "Everything will be alright. You'll see."

Giggles relented and shook her head.

"Let's just go on with the game." She threw the two boys a dark glare. "I don't want to hear about your foolishness anymore." She stated, scowling.

The blond boy was about to retort, frowning, but he just pursed his lips and gave up.

Flaky knew Cuddles had always had a soft spot for the pink-haired girl since they were little, but none of them had ever spoken about it. She just hoped those feelings weren't going to interfere with their friendship.

They all stretched their arms again but not as enthusiastic as the first time. After a few more tries, they reached the conclusion that Flaky was the one who lost the game. The girl looked at the dry ground for a few moments, thinking about something interesting that she could share with her friends.

Images with the terrifying, green-eyed soldier flooded her mind and she froze at the memories. She shivered a little, before she gathered her little courage and inhaled deeply, mentally preparing herself.

"Yesterday, my mother sent me to b-buy a disinfectant from the m-medicinal store." Her eyes spotted a small ladybug on the ground. It somewhat calmed her while she was telling her story, so she gently took it into her palm. "This cruel s-soldier grabbed my arm and t-twisted it p-painfully." She spoke, her voice trembling. "I thought f-for a moment h-he was going to b-break my a-arm." The bug made a small attempt at escaping, but Flaky trapped it into her hand. "He had the greenest eyes I h-have ever seen on a p-person and he s-seemed to be…insane."

The bug finally flew away from her hand, which made Flaky raise her eyes. Then she noticed the tense looks on her friends' faces.

"He has actually let you live." Cuddles spoke petrified. "He has actually let her live, guys." He repeated as if he was in a trance, as if he couldn't believe it.

"Good lord." Toothy carried on.

Giggles looked at her with a fixed, concerned stare, which Flaky had only seen her have when she was protective of her friends.

"You have no idea how lucky you are. He never lets any villager live. Any villager he talks to, actually."

Flaky widened her teary eyes.

"W-what?" She squeaked.

"He tortures the victims, then kills them. That's all. He doesn't even beat them. He's the worst of them all." Toothy spoke, visibly shivering. "He's a complete psycho. The green-eyed monster."

Flaky was somewhat relieved that she almost never knew anything. Those things her friends were telling her were just as unbearable as the ones about the oncoming war.

"I haven't h-heard of him before." She mumbled.

"Probably because you never go into the village." Giggles interrupted. "He has been the village's worst nightmare for the past three years. We have been lucky that we have managed to avoid him until now and that we haven't attracted his attention yet. Let's hope he will forget about you too."

She vaguely remembered that people stopped passing near her and the soldier in the moment he had started torturing her. That was why people avoided her after that too. Because they thought they were going to get killed if they associated with that soldier's victim. With her.

Her stomach felt sick when none of them said a word anymore. All that information was sinking in, it was twisting her mind and jabbing at her feelings. She felt nervous, so nervous that she sensed small trickles of sweat trailing down her skin.

That meant she was in danger. If that soldier killed all his victims, that meant she was next. He wasn't going to give up until he was going to murder her.

And her friends seemed to share the same thought.

"You have to stay as far away as possible from the village from now on." Giggles stated tense.

…

Of course, she had been scolded. Her mother reprimanded her for leaving the pink-haired woman alone, in spite of the fact that Giggles gave her best at taking her defense.

Her mother started lecturing her about the danger that the woman had been exposed to in the moment Flaky had left the cottage. The girl didn't have the courage necessary to tell her mother that she couldn't have done anything in case the woman would have been attacked again. She was too weak and helpless to stand against a soldier. And too retained to stand up against her mother, as well.

So, naturally, her mother sent her again to bring something to their cottage as punishment. Flaky feared that she was going to send her into the village, but, to her relief, her mother just told her to go into the forest and find some herbal leaves. Flaky tried not to look too relieved when she left the cottage, before she walked as slowly as possible towards the forest, trying to prolong the time. She didn't want to go back too soon.

From all the places in the world, she loved the forest the most. It was a soothing place that reminded her of her childhood.

She used to go with her father there. He led her to the river that descended into the valley. They spent their mornings and afternoons on the edge of the river. They sometimes caught fishes and laughed loudly, their voices echoing in the entire forest and down into the valley. Even her mother was more laid-back then and joined them sometimes, after a few pleads from her and her father.

It had been a piece of paradise that faded away in time. Now the forest was peaceful and beautiful, but it didn't bear the same vivid colors and life that it once did.

Flaky stopped near a small patch of earth on which grew the exact plants her mother told her she needed. She bent over and studied them for a moment, before she grabbed some, ripped them off and stuffed them into her ragged, small bag.

Then she noticed that it was quiet. _Too quiet_. She couldn't hear the birds anymore, only the small sound of the river.

A noise caught her attention and made her stand up. It was as if someone just stepped on some fallen leaves and crunched them under his foot. Then it stopped again.

The girl was almost too afraid to turn around. She knew there was something or someone behind her, but she didn't dare to turn around.

She just wanted to run away, but she knew she had to do it. She had to see what or who was standing behind her, a few feet away.

Slowly, she turned her head cautiously and looked at him. She turned white, whiter than a sick person when she saw him, her nightmare, the one that wanted to murder her, standing there. His arms were crossed as he studied her with those weird eyes that matched the forest.

The worst part was the fact that he had a long, horrifying gun hanging on his shoulder.

"Well, what do we have here?" He smirked as he stared at her from toes to head, analyzing every part of her. "The little, red haired snitch."

Flaky felt her legs beginning to give up under her, but she quickly leaned on the nearest tree trunk so that she wouldn't collapse to the ground. She couldn't even think anymore, she just stared at him frozen, being incapable of getting the smallest sound out of her.

She was dead. She wasn't going to get out of there alive. She couldn't even understand what he was doing there. She believed the soldiers never left the village, but it wasn't apparently like that. Or maybe he had found out who she was and came after her to kill her. Maybe he had threatened her mother and Giggles, maybe he had killed them too.

Flaky thought she was going to throw up from the terror that swirled inside her entire being.

He grinned when he noticed her fear and made a few steps forward. Flaky stuck herself to the tree, her breath hitching, sticking in her throat. She gave a small, barely audible whimper when he started getting closer and closer, his steps echoing in the silent forest.

She slowly started rounding the tree when he was less than one feet away from her. She tried to turn and bolt so that she could run away, but he dashed forward and grabbed her by the hair much faster, throwing her into the tree trunk again, before he put his hand to her throat and clutched it tightly. Flaky screamed, but the screams began to fade away, before they were replaced by chokes.

She desperately scratched at his hand, but he just laughed in her face, while her tears cascaded down her face.

"When will you get that no one ever escapes from me?" He lowly spoke in her face. He smirked as he stared into her pleading eyes with his own, cold ones. Flaky moved her lips, trying to get out words, but she couldn't, because his clutch tightened and tightened until there wasn't any air coming into her lungs. She just choked and cried into his hand, conforming with her impeding death.

His smirk faded away as he kept staring at her and, to her perplexity, he loosened his grasp on her neck a little. Flaky greedily gulped the small amount of air that flooded her lungs.

"P-please…p-please s-stop…", She cried. He continued to stare at her, emotionless, unmoved by her pleads. Then he settled his mad stare on her ragged, brown bag, before he looked back at her wondering. He snatched the bag from her hands, before he turned it upside down and shook it, only to see various leaves falling from it.

"That's interesting." He spoke. "You're the healer's daughter."

Flaky made a small sound with her throat as he suddenly grinned at her in a savage way. She feared for the worst, she feared that he would do something vile and horrendous to her, now that he knew who she was. She was sure he was going to torture her horribly before he would kill her.

And she was right.

She widened her teary eyes as she saw the knife that he got out of a pocket on the side of his army pants. The knife was sharp, its blade had a weird shape, something that she had never seen. She guessed it was specially made to torture and murder people.

She felt his hand slowly trail up the side of her thigh, reaching under her dirty dress and stopping right under the line that separated her thigh from her body. He caressed her smooth skin for a moment as he grinned into her tense, scared face. But that lasted only for a moment.

The girl gave a painful, excruciating scream as she sensed the knife's blade pressing into that spot. It pressed and scratched and she screamed and screamed in pain as the insane soldier laughed cruelly in her face. She felt the sharp blade cutting into her flesh, again and again, and it hurt so much that she thought she was going to faint from the unbearable pain.

After what seemed like an eternity, he stopped cutting her. He released her throat and backed away and Flaky fell to the ground into a mess, her face soaked and red from too much crying, her leg and neck throbbing from the pain. She closed her eyes and kept crying, hoping that he would just end her life then and there so that he would stop the torture.

She could see his boots in front of her, but she didn't dare to raise her eyes and look at him. The world was spinning around her, as she turned her head to the side and gazed at the forest, at that place that didn't seem as peaceful as before.

She felt his boot bump into her softly.

"Look at it." He spoke lowly. "Look at the piece of art that I have created." His voice didn't sound amused anymore, it sounded dark and possessed and dangerous.

Flaky swallowed heavily, before she barely managed to turn her head towards her hurt leg. She closed her eyes tightly, afraid to open them and look at the cuts on her leg.

"P-please…", She weakly murmured. She didn't even know what she was begging for. For her life or for a faster death. She begged him not to make her look at that horrifying wound.

The soldier ignored her begging and bumped her with his foot again, trying to make her open her eyes.

"_Look _at it." He repeated threateningly.

She cried and whimpered as she slowly lifted her eyelids. Tears flooded her eyes when she saw it.

It was there, a word that he had carved into her skin, red and throbbing, as blood streamed down her thigh from it.

A word that described her, her mother, her friends, her entire world.

Her miserable, sad, pained world.

'_Victim_'.


End file.
